Hi There.....Few Questions from a newbie!!!

[Crossey83]

Hi folks just wanted to say a quick hello and introduce myself and my new little tort and ask a few questions and air a few concerns I have.

My name is lee and I purchased my little horsfield back in july, its taken me a while to post on her due to having a very busy few months lol!!!Her name is betty and I have been told she is 1 year old and we believe she is female.

I have wanted a tort for ever since I can remember so after doing some research on various forums and speaking to my friend from work who also has a horsfield I decided to look into getting one. So I visited a few websites spoke to a few breeders but ended up getting her from a pet shop in warrington. Now I know this is bad but I stumbled across this shop one day went in saw her and immediatley fell in love with her and new I could give her a good home.

Currently I have her living in a viv, again I know this is bad but at the time it was the only option I had and I have adapted the viv so that there is plenty of ventilation for her as I have a very inqusitive and jealous cat, and have every intention of getting her into a tort table in the new year. She also spends as much time as possible outside in an adapted underbed storage tub which I have made into a little outdoor run for her.

She currently weighs 2.5 oz and is approx 6.5cm long is this the correct size for her???

Temps in the viv are 30-32 at the warm end and 23-25 at the cooler end.

Last week I decided to give the inside of her viv a little bit of a make over, so her substrate had been tort soil from pets at home but i decided after much reading on here that sand/soil mix would be better for her so this is what i did. I also placed some of that aquarium backing around the back of the viv to get rid of the unsightly wood that was the surround and make it look nicer for her. At first she seemed to love it and was wondering round and investigating her new home as we had a little change around with a few of the thing inside also. However......

Over the last week or so she seems to have really have gone in to her shell if you pardon the pun. She is eating less and is a lot less active than she previously was. Her light comes on at 9am and goes off at 9pm she wakes up for a while basks for a little bit and then dissapears back into her hidey hole. Im not sure if she comes out for the rest of the day as I am cabin crew and work different hours but from what I can see she doesnt really come back out much at all.

She has been fed on plantation, dandelion leaves and flowers, pansy leaves and flowers, a little of the florette salad, occasional green cabbage and i am currently growing her some of her own weeds but i am just waiting till these are grown enough for her to have a munch on them. She used to love all of these things but now the only thing she'll seem to really eat is if I put her a small tomato or strawberry in which I no arent the best thing for them other than a treat anyway.

I put her outside as much as possible and yesterday she went out, had a little munch on a pansy which I had just planted in her tub and then went and dissapeared under her plant pot and then didnt come back out again. She is back outside today before I have to go to work as im not back till the early hours, she does seem to be wondering round abit more today but nowhere near as much as she used too.

Also, I was bathing her every other day but as she has gone abit funny I have upped this to everyday. She also used to poo every time she went in the bath but seems to have stopped this and as far as im aware she hasnt had a poo in over a week, I have looked in both her indoor and outdoor enclosures and cant see any poo although it is of course difficult to see because of the soil.

I have read on here and other forums that some peoples horsfields appear to be winding down now slightly as its getting colder, I have also read that some peoples torts are not fans of change and when they have had a change around in their tables etc then the little fellas arent alsways happy and i'm hoping and praying that this is all it is.

In all other areas she seems healthy. Her eyes are bright and she seems generally happy enough but I am worried as I dont want her to be ill. I know everyone has said that with them its a constant worry and constant questions so any help or advice that you could give me would be fantastic!!!!

I hope I am giving her the best life that she can possible have as a captive animal and just want her to be a happy little tort.

Anyway sorry to have gone on sooooo much!!!!!Hope everyone and their pets are well!!!

[karibum]

you seem to be doing the right things but I would leave off the cabbage and fruit . Has she been checked for worms? This can cause them to become lethargic. Take a poo sample to a reptile vet and get it checked, the vet will then treat her if it's positive. I think a fair few people's torts are responding to the shorter day lengths and are slowing down ... mine aren't!! You could try increasing the amount of light in her viv, no more heat though as your temps are good. You can increase the light only by adding another uv tube.

[Crossey83]

Hi Thanks for the welcome and the advice. No she hasnt been checked for worms yet, havent seen any in her poo or anything when she has done them but I will do this anyway!!! Shes currently outside under her plant pot but for once shes not sleeping just watching whats going on around her just want her 2 perk up again I guess its all just a learning curve but its great to have places like this to come to for advice!!
Thanks again!!!

[Mrs Mental]

Welcome to the forum & hello little tortoise

I'd agree with Karibum has said to be honest as to diet wise & the cabbage - you could try putting her lights on earlier, say 7amish and off at 7pm in line with the natural light as 9am-9pm is fairly late. And yep I'd get a poo sample checked just incase she does need any treatment - you cant see all worms with the naked eye so its best to get it checked & ruled out. You could try droppign the lower end temps a little - my Horsfield table is 30-32 hot end and about 22 cooler end. I was wondering whether she may be a little hot and in a viv its not always so easy to escape the temps.

Other than that I'd just recommend getting a table sorted out asap really and making it nice and deep and adding a nice deep (mine is about 10") substrate for her - if you havent already had a read theres a good caresheet for Horsfield in the stickys at the top of the page

Let us know how she gets on wont you. Good luck with her